Afghan marble has often been compared to the first class Italian white marble of Carrara and that has attracted a lot of interest from Italian buyers in the past year.
As with much industry in Afghanistan, lack of security and poor transport infrastructure prevent Afghan companies from being competitive. So Afghans prefer to buy Iranian or Pakistani marble, which is much cheaper on the market.
Marble dealers say the Afghan government should support domestic products by providing facilities required by Afghan traders and also by reducing the royalty payments that marble quarries are forced to pay.
“In Afghanistan everything is more expensive: electricity; labour. Production is low and that’s why the price of Afghan marble is more expensive compared to Pakistani marble,” says Shafiq Ahmad, who owns a marble shop in Kabul’s bazaar.
Afghan marble entrepreneurs remain confident foreign investment will soon transform marble production into one of the most lucrative industries in Afghanistan.
“Marble has a global market,” says Ahmad. He adds, “We use only Afghan marble and its quality is the best in the world.”